Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Suitability of Maldives model of development for the Lakshadweep
The article highlights the issues with development model sought to be pursued in Lakshadweep.
Background of Island Development Authority’
- A specially constituted Island Development Authority (IDA) for the island territories of India, chaired by no less than the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
- IDA had in 1988, approved a framework for the development of India’s island territories.
- IDA sought an environmentally sound strategy for both island groups hinges on better exploitation of marine resources coupled with much greater care in the use of land resources.
- Deliberations of the IDA wanted that Lakshadweep, with its land ownership constitutionally protected, be opened to international tourism.
Issues with following Maldives model for development of Lakshadweep
- Recently, the Administrator, Lakshadweep, introduced a slew of draft legislation that will have a wide-ranging impact on the islands.
- One such legislation is the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 with intentions to develop Lakshadweep like neighbouring Maldives, “a renowned international tourist destination”.
- Rejecting the Maldives model, the plan for Lakshadweep required that the industry had to be people-centric and enrich the fragile coral ecology.
- Today, long lines and refrigeration have aided the expansion of the fishing sector but income disparities have grown.
- Indiscriminate trawling endangers the coral, as experienced in the Maldives and now banned there.
- The Government recognises the need to develop policies for enhancing employment opportunities, environment-friendly management of fisheries, sanitation, waste disposal and widening access to drinking water, with the youth, having acquired a modern education, preferring salaried jobs over pursuing traditional occupations.
Conclusion
What Lakshadweep needs is a clear policy must include conservation and natural resource management arrived at after wide consultation, eminently possible within the existing infrastructure of the Union Territory, and also taking into account climatic compulsions.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Impact of second Covid wave on States' fiscal health
The article gives the overview of the impact of second Covid wave on the fiscal health of the States.
Impact of first Covid wave on fiscal health of states
- The analysis of the fiscal data for all states with the exception of Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim reveal a grim picture.
- The aggregate revenue deficit for 24 state governments soared to Rs 4 trillion as per the revised estimates (RE) for 2020-21, up from a modest budgeted amount of Rs 353 billion.
- And, despite a 16 per cent cut in capital spending, the fiscal deficit of these states deteriorated to Rs 8.7 trillion in 2020-21 (RE), up from the budgeted estimate of Rs 6.0 trillion.
How states had projected ambitious decline in revenue deficit
- The budgets for the ongoing fiscal year, had projected an ambitious, decline in the aggregate revenue deficit to Rs 1.2 trillion, lower than the pre-Covid-19 level of Rs 1.3 trillion in 2019-20.
- This has benefitted from the considerable expansion in their revenue receipts this year, forecasted at 24.7 per cent, compared to a moderate 12.4 per cent increase in their aggregate revenue expenditure.
- This anticipated shrinking of the revenue deficit has allowed states to plan for a substantial expansion in their capital expenditure and net lending pegged at 34.1 per cent.
- This anticipated shrinking also allowed the States to attempt a modest correction in their budgeted fiscal deficit, bringing it down to Rs 7.6 trillion in 2021-22 from Rs 8.7 trillion in 2020-21 (RE).
Fiscal concerns over second Covid wave
- The second wave of Covid-19 infections and its spread to rural areas has fanned fiscal concerns.
- The curtailed consumption of discretionary items and contact-intensive services will dampen the growth of states’ own tax revenues this year.
- Moreover, lower mobility during the regional lockdowns will constrain tax revenues that states earn on fuels.
- The data for the generation of GST e-way bills confirms that the staggered imposition of the localised lockdowns has had an adverse impact on economic activity since April.
- This will result in a sequential slowdown in GST collections that will be reported in the subsequent two months.
- Nevertheless, the GST collections is likely to nearly double to Rs 1.7 trillion in the first quarter of this year, up from Rs 0.9 trillion over the same period last year, boosted by the record-high collections in April,
- That reflected healthy economic activity in March.
The shortfall and way forward
- States’ own tax collections is estimated to trail their budget estimates as they were drawn up before the second wave.
- For this year, state GST collections would be at Rs 6.1 trillion, falling below their projected revenues of Rs 8.7 trillion.
- This indicates a GST compensation requirement of Rs 2.65 trillion — only 38 per cent of which may be met through the expected GST compensation cess collections.
- Following the meeting of the GST Council, the Finance Minister has indicated that a back-to-back loan of Rs 1.58 trillion will be provided to the states.
- If the tranches of this loan start flowing to the states soon, it will alleviate their anticipated revenue crunch over the next two months.
- Already, there has been a sharp rise in the size of the upcoming State Development Loan auction to Rs. 19,550 crore, relative to the modest average size of around Rs. 7,400 crore seen so far in the first eight auctions held in FY2022.
Conclusion
In any case, the capital spending budgeted by certain state governments this year appears to be optimistic. Moreover, localised restrictions imposed during the last two months are expected to have constrained activity.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blockchain technology
Mains level: Paper 3- Adopting and regulating cryptocurrencies
The article highlights the need for coherent cryptocurrency policy and avoid missing the benefits offered by the technology.
Growing dominance of cryptocurrencies
- Created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency.
- It is a fully decentralised, peer-to-peer electronic cash system that didn’t need the purview of any third-party financial institution.
- The Bitcoin, which traded at just $ 0.0008 in 2010, commanded a market price of just under $65,000 this April.
- Many newer coins were introduced since Bitcoin’s launch, and their cumulative market value touched $ 2.5 trillion this May.
- Within a span of just over a decade, their value has surpassed the size of economies of most modern nations.
- The “cryptomarket” grew by over 500 per cent, even while the pandemic unleashed global economic carnage not seen since the Great Depression.
- China’s recent crackdown on cryptocurrency had far-reaching consequences.
- An astounding trillion US dollars were wiped out from the global cryptomarket within a span of 24 hours.
- This kind of volatility mentioned above has always been a concern for regulators and investors alike.
India’s approach
- Law enforcement and taxation agencies have called for a ban, expressing concerns over cryptocurrencies being used as instruments for illicit activities, including money laundering and terror funding.
- In 2018, the Reserve Bank barred our financial institutions from supporting crypto transactions — but the Supreme Court overturned it in 2020.
- Yet, Indian banks still block these transactions, and the government has circulated a draft bill outlawing all cryptocurrency activities, which has been under discussion since 2019.
- The Reserve Bank has announced the launch of a private blockchain-supported official digital currency, similar to the digital Yuan.
- India is increasingly mimicking China’s paradoxical attempt to centralise a decentralised ecosystem.
- India is trying to decouple cryptocurrencies from their underlying blockchain technology, and still derive benefit.
- Unfortunately, this is impractical, and shows a lack of understanding of this disruptive innovation.
- The funds that have gone into the Indian blockchain start-ups are less than 0.2 per cent of the amount the sector raised globally.
- The current central government approach makes it near-impossible for entrepreneurs and investors to acquire much economic benefit.
Need for regulation
- Regulation is definitely needed to prevent serious problems, to ensure that cryptocurrencies are not misused, and to protect unsuspecting investors from excessive market volatility and possible scams.
- However, regulation needs to be clear, transparent, coherent and animated by a vision of what it seeks to achieve.
- India has not been able to tick these boxes, and we’re in danger of missing out in the global race altogether.
Way forward
- Any new regulations made in this sector should prevent the misuse of these digital assets without hindering innovation and investments.
- Provisions have to be made to route the value extracted from these networks transparently into our financial system.
- Regulatory uncertainties over India’s position on cryptocurrency highlights the need for clear-headed policy-making.
Consider the question “India was a late adopter in all the previous phases of the digital revolution be it the semiconductors, the internet or smartphones. Do you think the same is happening again in India’s adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology?”
Conclusion
We are currently on the cusp of the next phase, which would be led by technologies like blockchain. We have the potential to channel our human capital, expertise and resources into this revolution, and emerge as one of the winners of this wave. All we need to do is to get our policymaking right.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Onset of Monsoon, ITCZ, etc.
Mains level: Factors that influence the onset of south-west monsoons, Indian Monsoon
- The monsoon’s arrival over Kerala has been delayed to June 3, according to an update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
- Private weather forecast agency, Skymet, however, said that the monsoon had arrived.
- This was because two of the three criteria — as defined by the IMD — had been met.
- Currently, IMD’s own data indicated that except for the OLR, the other criteria were met. Thus, there is an element of subjectivity in arrival.
What are those criterias defined by IMD?
- Rain-bearing westerlies being at a minimum depth and speed;
- At least 60% of the available 14 stations in Kerala and coastal Karnataka, reporting rainfall of 2.5 mm or more for two consecutive days after May 10;
- A certain degree of clouding, indicated by a parameter called ‘outgoing long wave radiation’ (OLR), being below 200 W/square meter.
What is meant by ‘Outgoing Long Wave Radiation’ (OLR)?
- Outgoing Long-wave Radiation (OLR) is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths from 3–100 μm emitted from Earth and its atmosphere out to space in the form of thermal radiation.
- It is also referred to as up-welling long-wave radiation and terrestrial long-wave flux, among others.
- The flux of energy transported by outgoing long-wave radiation is measured in W/m.
- In the Earth’s climate system, long-wave radiation involves processes of absorption, scattering, and emissions from atmospheric gases, aerosols, clouds and the surface.
- Over 99% of outgoing long-wave radiation has wavelengths between 4 μm and 100 μm, in the thermal infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Factors responsible for south-west monsoon formation:
- Intense heating of Tibetan plateau during summer months.
- Permanent high pressure cell in the South Indian Ocean (east to north-east of Madagascar in summer).
Factors that influence the onset of south-west monsoons:
- Above points +
- Subtropical Jet Stream (STJ).
- Tropical Easterly Jet (African Easterly Jet).
- Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.
Factors that influence the intensity of south-west monsoons:
- Strengths of Low pressure over Tibet and high pressure over southern Indian Ocean.
- Somali Jet (Findlater Jet).
- Somali Current (Findlater Current).
- Indian Ocean branch of Walker Cell.
- Indian Ocean Dipole.
Factors responsible for north-east monsoon formation:
- Formation and strengthening of high pressure cells over Tibetan plateau and Siberian Plateau in winter.
- Westward migration and subsequent weakening of high pressure cell in the Southern Indian Ocean.
- Migration of ITCZ to the south of India.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bell of Faith’ scheme
Mains level: Old age security
The ‘Bell of Faith’ scheme will now be implemented for senior citizens staying alone in villages. Scheme to cover 250 houses in city in the first phase.
What is the ‘Bell of Faith’ scheme all about?
- It is a safety project conceived under Kerala’s Community Policing Scheme.
- It will help elderly citizens attract the attention of their neighbours using a loud, remote-controlled alarm in emergencies.
- It has been under implementation in Kerala since 2018.
- A welfare fund of ₹3.5 crore sanctioned by the State government would be used for the initiative that gives preference to those staying alone in their houses.
- In the first phase, around 250 houses selected by the local Janamaithri scheme coordinators will be covered under the scheme
Significance of the Project:
- It sets an example for community participation to ensure the well-being and safety of the elderly.
- It can be of great support for the aged during the COVID-19 pandemic as many live in fear for their health.
- The electronic bells, installed free of cost with wireless control mechanism, will help senior citizens in quickly seeking the support of neighbours during emergencies.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ECOWAS
Mains level: Not much
West African leaders were due to meet in Ghana to discuss a response to Mali’s second coup in nine months.
- Since 1960, when Mali gained independence from France, there have been five coups — and only one peaceful transition from one democratically elected president to another.
- But on Monday, soldiers detained transitional President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, releasing them on Thursday while saying that they had resigned.
Recent coup
- Nine months ago, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in the wake of mass anti-government protests.
- Last week, the announcement of a new cabinet was made that excluded two key military leaders. Following this, the army has detained the President and the Prime Minister.
About ECOWAS
- The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975 via the treaty of Lagos.
- Mission: To promote economic integration in “all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters.
- Vision: Creation of a borderless region where the population has access to its abundant resources and is able to exploit same through the creation of opportunities under a sustainable environment.
- ECOWAS can be divided into two sub-regional blocs:
- West African Economic and Monetary Union – established in 1994
- West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) – established in 2000
- ECOWAS is meant to be a region governed in accordance with the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance.
- The member countries of ECOWAS comprises: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Goan liberation from Portuguese
Mains level: Decolonization in India
On 18 December 1961, the Indian government took military action against the Portuguese rule in Goa culminating in the liberation of Goa and its merger with the Indian Union.
About Goa
- Goa is located on the southwestern coast of India within the region known as the Konkan, and geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats.
- Capital: Panji.
- Official Language: Konkani which is one of the 22 languages from the Eight Schedule.
- Borders: It is surrounded by Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coast.
History:
- Portugal conquered Goa in 1510 and made it a colony.
- In 1950, the Indian government, in a bid to start diplomatic measures to free Goa, asked the Portuguese government to start negotiations for the independence of Goa. However, Portugal refused.
- The Goan movement was supported by Indian independence leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli was annexed by India in 1954 with the support of the United Front of Goans, the Azad Gomantak Dal and the National Movement Liberation Organisation.
- The commander of the Indian forces was Major-General K.P. Candeth. The operation for Goa liberation was codenamed “Operation Vijay”.
- After the fall of Goa, Portugal terminated all diplomatic relations with India and only in 1974 Portugal recognise Goa as a part of India and resume diplomatic relations.
- The USSR had steadfastly supported India in this matter and also vetoed a resolution condemning the Indian invasion in the UN Security Council.
Geography:
- The highest point of Goa is Sonsogor.
- Goa’s seven major rivers are the Zuari, Mandovi, Terekhol, Chapora, Galgibag, Kumbarjua canal, Talpona and the Sal.
- Most of Goa’s soil cover is made up of laterites.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: `Paper 3- Role of data analytics during pandemic
The article highlights how data played an important role in decision-making in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Importance of data in decision making
- The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted globally how important data is to governments in decision-making.
- Epidemiological data is of paramount significance for targeting and implementing control measures for public health in a timely manner
- Such data was used effectively in the evidence-based response and decision-making in countries like South Korea.
- Modern response to pandemics has focused on exploiting all the available data to inform policy action in real time.
How data analysis helped during pandemic
- Data analysis has revealed the need for continuous and repeated tracking of case numbers, fatalities and recoveries.
- The epidemiological concept of flattening the curve and its predictions are results of data analysis and modelling.
- Understanding testing adequacy or lack thereof allows us to measure our preparedness, prognostic versus diagnostic ability, and shape our responses to identify, manage, and care for new cases.
- Epidemic outbreak data like case data, medical and treatment data can be used to understand disease pathogenesis and severity.
- Genome sequencing surveillance helps identify and track viral genome sequence variants in real time and the evolution of the virus.
- The concept of open access to various data enables models to improve forecast and study the spread of the disease.’
Integration and analysis of multiple datatypes
- The integration and analysis of multiple heterogeneous datatypes eventually would yield a holistic picture.
- This helps guide policy decisions for control and management of public health.
- When genome surveillance data is correlated with the magnitude of cases and their outcomes, then we can understand the transmissibility or infectivity of the virus.
- Geographical mapping of prevalence of mutants allows us to understand viral spread and explain recoveries or deaths in a specific area.
- The roll out of vaccinations can shape viral evolution and drug-treatment strategies.
- Surveillance through studying genome sequencing of the virus, coupled to other epidemiological data allows us to identify these connections.
Challenges
- Part of the challenge lies in the standardisation of data collection, curation, annotation and the integration of data analytics pipelines for outbreak analytics.
Way forward
- Ensuring data availability and quality under operational constraints is critical.
- The use of data standards instils consistency, reduces errors and enables transparency.
- Embedded in the idea of data sharing lies the concept of data security and confidentiality.
- Concerns of privacy and security calls for a systemic infrastructure with built-in safeguards to ensure data encryption while preserving anonymity and ensuring privacy.
- As our dependence on data-based decisions becomes more and more critical, an urgent charter for standardised digital health data in India is required.
Consider the question “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted globally how important data is to governments in decision-making. Explain how data helps in decision making and challenges in evidence-based decision making based on data.”
Conclusion
Rational and scientific methods necessitate data without which neither can we have information, nor knowledge or wisdom. Data sharing, and transparency and timely dissemination of data are critical to overcome the pandemic.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Midday Meal Scheme
Mains level: Food and nutrition security measures
The Centre has decided to give about ₹100 each to children studying in Class 1 to Class 8 in government schools, who are beneficiaries of the Mid Day Meal scheme.
Mid Day Meal Scheme
- The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
- It is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.
- The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs.
- Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest of its kind in the world.
- The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.
The scheme aims to:
- avoid classroom hunger
- increase school enrolment
- increase school attendance
- improve socialization among castes
- address malnutrition
- empower women through employment
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.An objective of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the production of certain crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country. What are those crops?
(a) Rice and wheat only
(b) Rice, wheat, and pulses only
(c) Rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds only
(d) Rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables
What is the new move?
- The money, ₹1200 crore in total, will be given to 11.8 crore children through direct benefit transfer as a one-time payment.
- The money comes from the cooking cost component of the scheme, it said.
- This decision will help safeguard the nutritional levels of children and aid in protecting their immunity during challenging pandemic times.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Engage with Nepal without intervening
The article suggests recalibration of India’s approach towards political turmoil in Nepal.
Nepal in political crisis
- For the second time in weeks, Prime Minister K P Oli has persuaded President Bidya Devi Bhandari to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
- That is, unless the Supreme Court decides to declare the dissolution of parliament as unconstitutional, as it had done in the recent past.
- The current dissolution has been challenged in the court by five political parties.
Medhesi demand fulfilled
- Prime Minister Oli has also delivered on the longstanding Madhesi demand to reverse a constitutional provision which denied citizenship to children born of Nepali mothers who had foreign husbands.
- The widespread unrest in the Terai adjoining India in 2015 was triggered by this attempt to deny equal rights to the Madhesi population.
- This provision had directly targeted the Madhesi population, which has close kinship and marital ties across the border with India.
- While this provision has now been removed through a presidential ordinance, it could well be reversed in future by Nepali political parties dominated by the higher caste.
Steps India needs to take
- Political uncertainty in a neighbouring country is never good news for India, particularly in Nepal with whom we share a long and open border.
- The Indian government has maintained a studied silence on the current political developments in Nepal and this may be the right thing to do.
- But this silence should not imply the lack of a proper assessment of the political situation in Nepal and what would serve the interests of India best.
- Following are the steps India need to take:
1) India should declare it does not support the revival of monarchy
- The abolition of the monarchy is a net gain for India and the government must firmly and unambiguously declare that it does not support the revival of the monarchy, which has already been rejected by its people.
- India should declare its unconditional support to Nepal’s republican democracy.
2) Remain engaged with Nepal
- India should remain fully engaged with Nepal at all levels and across the political spectrum.
- The safeguarding of India’s vital interests demands such sustained engagement.
- A hands-off policy will only create space for other external influences, some of which, like China, may prove to be hostile.
- However, engagement must dispense with the recurrent tendency to label Nepali political leaders as friends or enemies.
- India should advocate policies rather than persons.
3) Recognise the role of Madhesi population
- In India’s engagement with Nepal, the Terai belt and its large Madhesi population plays a critical and indispensable role.
- In an effort to win over the Kathmandu political and social elite, one should be careful not to neglect citizens living in the plains.
- Our engagement with Nepal must find an important place for Nepali citizens who are our immediate neighbours and act as a kinship, cultural and religious bridge between our two countries.
4) Appreciate people-to-people link
- India needs to appreciate that the people-to-people links between our two countries have an unmatched density and no other country, including China, enjoys this asset.
- The challenge to our Nepal policy lies in leveraging this precious asset to ensure a stable and mutually-productive state-to-state relationship.
- India has every reason to approach its relations with Nepal with confidence and assurance.
Consider the question “What are the factors that make India-Nepal relationship special? What are the recent challenges impacting this special relationship? ”
Conclusion
The safeguarding of India’s vital interests demands India’s engagement with Nepal without intervening in its politics. A hands-off policy will only create space for other external influences.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India's oil import
Mains level: Impact of covid on food basket
Edible oil prices have risen sharply in recent months.
How much have edible oil prices rising?
- The prices of six edible oils — groundnut oil, mustard oil, vanaspati, soya oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil — have risen between 20% and 56% at all-India levels in the last year.
- The prices of soya oil and sunflower oil, too, have increased more than 50% since last year.
- In fact, the monthly average retail prices of all six edible oils soared to an 11-year high in May 2021.
- The sharp increase in cooking oil prices has come at a time when household incomes have been hit due to Covid-19.
Trends of oil consumption in India
- With rising incomes and changing food habits, consumption of edible oils has been rising over the years.
- While mustard oil is consumed mostly in rural areas, the share of refined oils —sunflower oil and soyabean oil — is higher in urban areas.
How much is produced domestically and how much is imported?
- In 2019-20, domestic availability of edible oils from both primary sources (oilseeds like mustard, groundnut etc.) and secondary sources (such as coconut, oil palm, rice bran oil, cottonseed) was only 10.65 million tonnes against the total domestic demand of 24 million tonnes.
- Thus, India depends on imports to meet its demand.
- In 2019-20, the country imported about 13.35 million tonnes of edible oils or about 56% of the demand.
- This mainly comprised palm (7 million tonnes), soyabean (3.5 millon tonnes) and sunflower (2.5 million tonnes).
- The major sources of these imports are Argentina and Brazil for soyabeen oil; Indonesia and Malaysia palm oil; and Ukraine and Argentina again for sunflower oil.
Answer this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.Among the agricultural commodities imported by India, which one of the following accounts for the highest imports in terms of value in the last five years?
(a) Spices
(b) Fresh fruits
(c) Pulses
(d) Vegetable oils
Global prices rising
- The increase in domestic prices is basically a reflection of international prices because India meets 56% of its domestic demand through imports.
- In the international market, prices of edible oils have jumped sharply in recent months due to various factors.
- Even the FAO price index (2014-2016=100) for vegetable oils, an indicator of the movement of edible oil prices in the international market, has soared to 162 in April this year, compared to 81 in April last year.
But why are international prices rising?
- One of the reasons is the thrust on making biofuel from vegetable oil. There is a shifting of edible oils from food basket to fuel basket.
- There has been a thrust on making renewable fuel from soyabean oil in the US, Brazil and other countries.
- Other factors include buying by China, labour issues in Malaysia, the impact of La Niña on palm and soya producing areas, and export duties on crude palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia.
What are the options before the government?
- One of the short-term options for reducing edible oil prices is to lower import duties.
- However, the edible oil industry is not in favor of reducing duties.
- If import duties are reduced, international prices will go up, and neither will the government get revenue nor will the consumer benefit.
- The government can rather subsidize edible oils and make them available to the poor under the Public Distribution System.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Neglected Tropical Diseases
Mains level: Burden of NTD in India
The ongoing World Health Assembly has declared January 30 as ‘World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day’.
Neglected Tropical Diseases
- NTDs are a group of infections that are most common among marginalized communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
- They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms.
- These diseases generally receive less funding for research and treatment than malaises like tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria.
- Some examples of NTDs include snakebite envenomation, scabies, yaws, trachoma, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
Significance of global recognition
- NTDs affect more than a billion people globally, according to the WHO. They are preventable and treatable.
- However, these diseases and their intricate interrelationships with poverty and ecological systems — continue to cause devastating health, social and economic consequences.
- A major milestone in the movement to recognize the global burden of these diseases was the London Declaration on NTDs that was adopted January 30, 2012.
- The first World NTD Day was celebrated informally in 2020. This year, the new NTD road map was launched.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Tree transplantation and its feasibility
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) wants to transplant over 1,800 trees which are inside what used to be the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) complex, as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project.
Transplantation of trees
- The transplantation of trees is a complex and delicate process whose outcome cannot be predicted.
- A tree cannot be transplanted by simply uprooting it and placing it in a pit dug elsewhere. The process involves multiple steps and requires significant expertise.
How it is done?
- First, the soil around the tree is dug up to isolate the roots. The big branches are lopped off, leaving only small shoots for regeneration. This is done to make transportation of the tree to the new location easier.
- The root system is covered with wet gunny bags to protect the roots and to keep the tree hydrated.
- The tree has to be first sent to a nursery to acclimatize to a new kind of soil, and to regenerate.
- Once new shoots start sprouting, the tree is lowered into a pit created in its new spot.
What factors determine the success of a transplant?
- Even after all steps are meticulously followed, a lot depends on luck. The survival rate of a transplanted tree is about 50%.
- Not all trees can be transplanted. While peepal, ficus, semal and sheesham are tolerant to transplantation, trees such as dak, palash, arjun, shahtoot and jhilmil are not.
(1) Roots
- Any tree that has a tap root system cannot be transplanted, as the root goes deep into the soil, and it is not possible to isolate it without damage.
(2) Size
- Transplanting any tree with a trunk girth of more than 80-90 cm is not advisable as the tree cannot bear the shock, and will eventually die.
(3) Age
- That effectively means that big, old trees cannot, in most cases, be removed to another location.
(4) Soil
- It is important to consider soil type before transplantation.
- A tree growing on, say, the Delhi Ridge will not easily acclimatize to the soil in the Yamuna floodplain, as the two ecosystems are entirely different.
How expensive is transplantation?
- The cost of transplanting an average-sized tree might come to around Rs 1 lakh, which included post-transplantation care.
- For larger trees, the cost could go up to Rs 3 lakh.
- Private and voluntary organizations, however, claim that the cost is between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per tree.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lakshadweep and its location
Mains level: Not Much
A series of regulations proposed by the Lakshadweep administrator has caused widespread resentment and fear among its residents.
What are the new regulations?
[1] Cow slaughter & beef
- An order from the Administration seeks to ban the slaughter of cow, calf, bull, and buffalo without a certificate from a competent authority.
- It prohibits the sale, transport, and storage of beef and beef products. Penalties include a jail term of up to one year and a fine of Rs 10,000.
- The Administration has not provided an explanation on why the rule was brought in.
- Residents view the rule as a direct infringement on their culture and eating habits. They allege the rule was decided without consultation with local bodies.
[2] Two-child policy
- Under the Draft Panchayat Regulation 2021, the Administration aims to bar people with more than two children from becoming a member of the gram panchayat.
- For those who already have more than two children, the regulation does not disqualify them provided they do not have further children after the date on which the rule comes into effect.
[3] Serving liquor to tourists
- The Administration has decided to allow liquor to be served at resorts on inhabited islands.
- Currently, prohibition is in place on all inhabited islands, with liquor served only at resorts on the uninhabited Bangaram Island.
- The Dist Collector clarified that liquor permits would be given only to resorts for tourists, not for locals.
- Residents have alleged that the move will lead to a proliferation of liquor sales on the island, which had been observing near-prohibition until now.
[4] Land acquisition powers
- The Administration brought in a draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) to oversee the development of towns on the islands, with sweeping changes in the way land can be acquired and utilized.
- It talks of the declaration of ‘planning areas’ and constitution of ‘planning and development authorities’ for preparing a land-use map and register, ostensibly for large projects.
- Residents have protested against the way it was prepared and pushed through without consultation.
- They fear large infrastructure and tourism projects can destabilize the ecology, and that the notification gives powers to the Administration to remove small landholdings of ST residents.
[5] Anti-social activities regulation
- The draft Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation provides for powers to detain a person for up to one year to prevent him from “acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
- It allows for detention for anti-social activities from six months to a year without legal representation.
- The Collector said while the island remains peaceful, there have been reports of drugs being found along with weapons and live ammunition.
- He said the regulation is required to keep the “youth from getting misguided by illegal businesses”.
- Residents are skeptical of the need for such stringent law in a UT with one of the lowest crime rates in the country. They allege it has been brought in to arrest those opposed to the Administration.
Back2Basics: Lakshadweep Islands
- There are 36 islands across 12 atolls, closest to Kerala, on which it depends for essential supplies. Only 10 of the islands are inhabited.
- Once a part of the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency, Lakshadweep was given Union Territory status following Kerala state’s formation in 1956.
- With a population of 65,000 (2011 Census), Lakshadweep is India’s smallest Union Territory.
- It has the highest population share of Muslims (96%) and Scheduled Tribes (94.8%) among the UTs.
- Residents speak Malayalam and Dhivehi.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: INDIAai
Mains level: AI promotion moves by the government
The ‘National AI Portal (https://indiaai.gov.in)’, celebrated its first anniversary on May 28, 2021.
National AI Portal
- INDIAai is the National AI Portal of India – a central hub for everything AI in India and beyond.
- A joint initiative of MeitY, NeGD and NASSCOM, the website aims to be the trusted content powerhouse in the backdrop of India’s journey to global prominence in Artificial Intelligence.
- It serves as a central hub for AI related news, learning, articles, events and activities etc., in India and beyond.
- It has been set up to prepare the nation for an AI future.
- It is the single central knowledge hub on artificial intelligence and allied fields for aspiring entrepreneurs, students, professionals, academics, and everyone else.
- The portal focuses on creating and nurturing a unified AI ecosystem for driving excellence and leadership in India’s AI journey, to foster economic growth and improve lives through it.
B2BASICS
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI is an interdisciplinary science with multiple approaches, but advancements in machine learning and deep learning are creating a paradigm shift in virtually every sector of the tech industry.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Provisions of IT Rules 2021
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with IT Rules 2021
The article highlights the issues with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Important provision made in the IT Rules 2021
- The Rules mandate duties such as removal of non-consensual intimate pictures within 24 hours.
- The rules also mandates publication of compliance reports to increase transparency.
- Rules provides for setting up of a dispute resolution mechanism for content removal.
- It provides for adding a label to information for users to know whether content is advertised, owned, sponsored or exclusively controlled.
Issues with the rules
1) Affects right to free speech and expression
- The Supreme Court, in the case of Life Insurance Corpn. Of India vs Prof. Manubhai D. Shah (1992) had elevated ‘the freedom to circulate one’s views as the lifeline of any democratic institution’.
- So, the rules need to be critically scrutinised for the recent barriers being imposed by it.
2) Violation of legal principles
- The rules were framed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY).
- However, the Second Schedule of the Business Rules, 1961 does not empower MeiTY to frame regulations for digital media.
- This power belongs to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- This action violates the legal principle of ‘colourable legislation’ where the legislature cannot do something indirectly if it is not possible to do so directly.
- Moreover, the Information Technology Act, 2000, does not regulate digital media.
- Therefore, the new IT Rules which claim to be a piece of subordinate legislation of the IT Act, goes beyond the rule-making power conferred upon them by the IT Act.
- This makes the Rules ultra vires to the Act.
3) Deprives the fair recourse to intermediary
- An intermediary is now supposed to take down content within 36 hours upon receiving orders from the Government.
- This deprives the intermediary of a fair recourse in the event that it disagrees with the Government’s order due to a strict timeline.
4) Privacy violation
- These Rules undermine the right to privacy by imposing a traceability requirement.
- The immunity that users received from end-to-end encryption was that intermediaries did not have access to the contents of their messages.
- Imposing this mandatory requirement of traceability will break this immunity, thereby weakening the security of the privacy of these conversations.
- This will also render all the data from these conversations vulnerable to attack from ill-intentioned third parties.
- The threat here is not only one of privacy but to the extent of invasion and deprivation from a safe space.
- Recent data breach affecting a popular pizza delivery chain and also several airlines highlights the risks involved in such move in the absence of data protection law.
- Instead of eliminate the fake news, the Rules proceed to hurriedly to take down whatever authority may deem as “fake news”.
5) Operational cost
- The Rules create additional operational costs for intermediaries by requiring them to have Indian resident nodal officers, compliance officers and grievance officers.
- Intermediaries are also required to have offices located in India.
- This makes profit making a far-fetched goal for multinational corporations and start-up intermediary enterprises.
- Therefore, not only do these Rules place a barrier on the “marketplace of ideas” but also on the economic market of intermediaries in general by adding redundant financial burdens.
Consider the question “What are the challenges associated with the social media? How the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 will help is dealing with these challenges? What are the issues with these rules?”
Conclusion
Democracy stands undermined in direct proportion to every attack made on the citizen’s right. The IT Rules 2021 have tilt towards violation of rights. Therefore, these rules need reconsideration.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blackbuck
Mains level: Not Much
Odisha’s blackbuck population has doubled in the last six years, according to figures from the latest population census.
Blackbucks in Odisha
- Blackbucks are found only in the Ganjam district in the southern part of the state, which is where the census was carried out.
- It is known in Odisha and Ganjam as Krushnasara Mruga.
- The people of Ganjam believe the sighting of a blackbuck in a paddy field is a harbinger of luck for them.
- It used to be sighted in the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary in Puri district till 2012-13, but now has vanished from the area.
- The blackbuck is a Schedule-1 animal according to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended in 1992) and is considered as ‘Vulnerable’ according to the Red Data Book.
Reasons for their rise
- Improvement of habitats, the protection given by the local people and forest staff were some of the reasons for the increase of the population.
- The people of Ganjam had been enthusiastically protecting the animal like the Bishnois of western Rajasthan and the Vala Rajputs of Saurashtra.
Answer this PYQ:
Q.With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Back2Basics: Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- WPA provides for the protection of the country’s wild animals, birds, and plant species, in order to ensure environmental and ecological security.
- It provides for the protection of a listed species of animals, birds, and plants, and also for the establishment of a network of ecologically important protected areas in the country.
- It provides for various types of protected areas such as Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks, etc.
- There are six schedules provided in the WPA for the protection of wildlife species which can be concisely summarized as under:
| Schedule I: |
These species need rigorous protection and therefore, the harshest penalties for violation of the law are for species under this Schedule. |
| Schedule II: |
Animals under this list are accorded high protection. They cannot be hunted except under threat to human life. |
| Schedule III & IV: |
This list is for species that are not endangered. This includes protected species but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules. |
| Schedule V: |
This schedule contains animals which can be hunted. |
| Schedule VI: |
This list contains plants that are forbidden from cultivation. |
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Dealing with vaccine hesitancy
The article deals with the issue of vaccine hesitancy and its consequences.
Why vaccinate?
- The primary purpose of vaccination is to protect individuals against severe infection.
- Vaccination also protects populations by providing ‘herd immunity’, if done on a large scale.
- Globally, vaccinations against polio, small pox, meningitis and so on have seen huge success.
Need to address the vaccine hesitancy
- The results of a 2020 Gallup poll, conducted before the vaccine roll-out reveals that 18% of the Indian said that they won’t take the vaccine.
- But vaccine hesitancy has gone up in India since then, due in part to largely overblown reports of complications or even deaths.
- The consequences of vaccine hesitancy are disastrous.
- If herd immunity does not develop, disease outbreaks and pandemics will prevail.
- The slower the vaccination rate, the wider the spread of infection and the greater the chances of mutations and the emergence of new variants.
Factors driving vaccine hesitancy
- The influencing factors include a lack of awareness of the extent of benefits.
- Fears based on inaccurate information.
- Lack of access to vaccine.
- Disinformation, especially on social media.
- Other factors include civil liberty concepts, cost, cultural issues, and various layers of confidence deficit.
Way forward
- To allay vaccine fears, our messaging needs to focus on simple facts.
- Before attempting to persuade people, we need to understand the basis of their fear, hesitancy and the anti-vax attitude.
- By challenging untruths, we inadvertently feed the perception that we are actively suppressing the “real” truth.
- The objective now should be to reach more people faster with a message that doesn’t just provide more science but includes guidance.
- Providing practical information through social media, alternatives to apps for those lacking easy access to vaccines, and taking the help of well-informed frontline workers will all help.
Conclusion
The possibility of a significant number of people not getting vaccinated thwarts our collective ability to reach the herd immunity threshold against Covid-19. Therefore the issue of vaccine hesitancy needs to be urgently addressed.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Currency Swap
Mains level: Bangladesh economic growth
Bangladesh’s central bank has approved a $200 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka.
Practice question for mains:
Q. What are Currency Swaps? Discuss the efficacy of Currency Swap Agreements for liberalizing bilateral trade.
What is a Currency Swap?
- In this context, a currency swap is effectively a loan that Bangladesh will give to Sri Lanka in dollars, with an agreement that the debt will be repaid with interest in Sri Lankan rupees.
- For Sri Lanka, this is cheaper than borrowing from the market, and a lifeline as is it struggles to maintain adequate forex reserves even as repayment of its external debts looms.
- The period of the currency swap will be specified in the agreement.
A helping hand for SL
- Bangladesh Bank, the central bank, has in principle approved a $200 million currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka.
- Dhaka decided to extend the facility after a request by Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to Bangladesh’s PM Sheikh Hasina.
- It will help Colombo tide over its foreign exchange crisis, according to media reports from Bangladesh, quoting the bank’s spokesman.
- Sri Lanka, staring at an external debt repayment schedule of $4.05 million this year, is in urgent need of foreign exchange.
An unusual move
- Bangladesh has not been viewed so far as a provider of financial assistance to other countries.
- It has been among the most impoverished countries of the world, and still receives billions of dollars in financial aid.
- But over the last two decades, its economy has pulled itself up literally by the bootstraps, and in 2020, was the fastest growing in South Asia.
- Bangladesh’s economy grew by 5.2 percent in 2020 and is expected to grow by 6.8 percent in 2021.
- The country has managed to pull millions out of poverty. Its per capita income just overtook India’s.
A break in monopoly
- This may be the first time that Bangladesh is extending a helping hand to another country, so this is a landmark of sorts.
- It is also the first time that Sri Lanka is borrowing from a SAARC country other than India.
- The presumption was that only India, as the regional group’s largest economy, could do this.
- The Bangladesh-Sri Lanka arrangement shows that is no longer valid.
Why didn’t SL approach India?
- Last year, it requested for a $1 billion credit swap, and separately, a moratorium on debts that the country has to repay to India.
- But India-Sri Lanka relations have been tense over Colombo’s decision to cancel a valued container terminal project at Colombo Port.
- India put off the decision, but Colombo no longer has the luxury of time.
Is SL in a crisis?
- With the tourism industry destroyed since the 2019 Easter attacks, Sri Lanka had lost one of its top foreign exchange pullers even before the pandemic.
- The tea and garment industries have also been hit by the pandemic affecting exports.
- Remittances increased in 2020, but are not sufficient to pull Sri Lanka out of its crisis.
- The country is already deep in debt to China. According to media reports, Sri Lanka owes China up to $5 billion.
What about the previous swap facility that India gave Sri Lanka?
- Last July, the RBI did extend a $400 million credit swap facility to Sri Lanka, which the Central Bank of Sri Lanka settled in February. The arrangement was not extended.
- RBI has a framework under which it can offer credit swap facilities to SAARC countries within an overall corpus of $2 billion.
- According to RBI, the SAARC currency swap facility came into operation in November 2012 with the aim of providing to smaller countries in the region.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Broadcasting Foundation
Mains level: Self regulation by electronic media
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, is expanding its purview to cover digital streaming platforms and will be renamed the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).
Why such a move?
- The move would bring broadcasters and OTT (over-the-top) platforms, which have seen a substantial jump in their viewership base after the pandemic, under one roof.
- For this, the IBDF was in the process of forming a new wholly-owned subsidiary to handle all matters of digital media, an official statement said.
- The IBDF would also form a self-regulatory body, the Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC), for digital OTT platforms.
Indian Broadcasting Foundation
- The IBF is a unified representative body of television broadcasters in India.
- The organization was founded in the year 1999. Over 250 Indian television channels are associated with it.
- The organization is credited as the spokesman of the Indian Broadcasting Industry.
- The IBF is the parent organization of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) which was set up in the year 2011.
- The BCCC examines content-related complaints relating to all non-news general entertainment channels in India.
Note: The IBF has no statutory backing.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now